Two clerks at a 7-Eleven store in Northern California rained two dozen blows with a wooden stick on a would-be robber filling up a trash can with cigarettes and other goods, according to videos posted on social media Wednesday and Stockton police.
A would-be robber at one of the chain's Stockton stores—it wasn't clear which one—wearing a dirty white T-shirt, blue jeans, tan construction-worker boots and a blue scarf partially covering his head and face can be seen pushing a 20-gallon trash can on wheels behind a counter, video showed.
As the suspect grabs and tosses fistfuls of cigarette boxes and tobacco products from shelves behind the store counter, store workers can be seen backing away warily from the man, who appears to reach threateningly toward his back pocket as if he is carrying a weapon.
Meanwhile, the man filming tells the clerks not to interfere and to call the police.
Seconds later, one worker manages to push the would-be robber to the ground. Instantly, another worker grabs a long wooden stick and beats the man on the ground in the legs as he screams in pain.
"Are you done?" the witness filming the video asks the man when the beating stops. "Are you done? Then go!" The 7-Eleven workers and the witness then talk to the suspect, who admits he isn't armed, and they decide against calling police.
As the would-be robber leaves, he asks the man filming him if he can get a soda. The witness tells him no and orders him to leave the store.
The video's exact time and location were unavailable, but a Stockton police public information officer confirmed the incident happened and said police would have a statement later Thursday.